Olivia Cruises offers seagoing trips just for women

Susan Zieff, SPECIAL TO THE EXAMINER

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, January 19, 1997

ABOARD THE ROYAL ODYSSEY - Taking a cruise is a bit like being at summer camp. Remember when your parents packed you up, gave you a peck on the cheek, then drove away? You were stuck there. You couldn't leave.

Then it happened. You forgot about all the fun you were missing out on at home, you got picked for the softball and volleyball teams, and you began to have the time of your young life.

It's like that being on this 700-foot floating camp. Despite your initial reservations about going on a cruise, you soon discover you're having an awesome time and are meeting some incredible people - as you share your eighth meal of the day.

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I know this is what can happen because during a summertime trip through southeastern Alaska with Olivia Cruises ( "unique vacations for women" according to the brochure), spending time in our collective "bunk" soon overshadowed any focus on organized activities.

Time together became precious. My friends (whom I had just met the previous day) and I didn't want to stop at the scheduled ports because it meant we would have to get off the ship.

First, let me state unequivocally that the scenery was stunning, breathtaking and magnificent. Having said that, let me also admit that some of my best memories and experiences of the cruise came when we were at sea.

I played bingo; jitterbugged to a friend singing

"Jailhouse Rock" at karaoke; gambled; played paddle ball and ping pong; worked out in the ship's fitness club; learned to two-step, ballroom dance and other assorted forms of country "swing" (things I promise I have never done at home in the Bay Area); watched the newlywed and

"oldywed" games played with cruise participants; and dressed according to the '50s and western theme nights.

Oh, the things you do at summer camp. My partner and I even had our picture taken with the polar bear mascot one night at dinner. Or was it lunch? Afternoon snack?

Food on board was definitely available. Passengers on this ship, the Norwegian Cruise Line's Royal Odyssey, had a choice of continental, buffet or sit-down breakfasts available from 6 to 10 a.m. Lunch rolled out a mere two hours later. With afternoon snacks, dinner and the midnight buffet, food was never more than a few moments away.

The food was often richer and definitely less imaginative than I am used to eating in San Francisco. But many passengers considered eating three hearty meals a day for seven days to be not only a highlight of the trip but a

"raison de cruise." One day out of sheer gastronomic overload I ordered a tuna salad sandwich that was not on the menu.

At first, the female passengers and the predominantly male waiters and ship's crew were hesitant with each other, but by the end of the week they were joining together in conga lines winding through the dining room.

All food costs except beverages are included on the cruise. In fact, all activity costs except gambling and bingo are part of the set price - and that is a good thing because Olivia cruises are more expensive than those advertised by many popular "mainstream" travel lines.

The least expensive stateroom was $1,695, while the luxurious penthouse rooms that included a king bed, sitting room, veranda, bathtub, butler, VCR, refrigerator and large windows topped out at $4,195.

Passengers should plan on $500 to $1,000 in additional costs. It's hard to escape without spending on beverages, gambling, bingo and shore excursions. Helicopter rides ($155 to $210), sport fishing ($150) and whale watching ($149) are just a few of the tempting possibilities.

Taking such a cruise is not for the modestly employed. On this voyage I met lawyers, accountants, reporters, bankers, women in public relations and marketing, psychologists and doctors of all descriptions. Most were 40-something, though they ranged in age from late-20s to 70-plus.

Being part of a large group of powerful, professional women was part of the appeal for Siobhan Parry, a midwife from Sacramento, and her partner, Anna Macias, who enjoyed being around "so many accomplished women."

Parry and Macias were on their ninth cruise with Olivia. It's "like an addiction," said Parry. "It's a microcosm of lesbian life." The couple reminded me of the girls I knew who had attended camp for nine, 10, 12 years, and for them it was more about the people than the location.

For some, the issue of "outness" is a significant part of the experience. Olivia President Judy Dlugacz said that being "out" every minute of every day on the cruise is a unique experience for most cruisers. Even those who consider themselves "out" discover ways in which they are not.

Five-time cruiser Theresa Hale said she valued the safety and security "so we can do things without getting hassled."

The cruise went beyond providing a safe environment, an issue perhaps less significant for Bay Area lesbians than those from other parts of the country.

Depending upon your musical bent, you could listen to professional entertainment or participate in camp-fire style sing-alongs beside the hot tub decks. (Think

"Kumbaya." )

Each morning at 7 a.m. the scholarly voice of naturalist Patty Brown rang through our cabin radio system, awakening us with commentary on the geology, flora and fauna we passed on the ship.

She explained that within the College Fjord lies the Columbia Glacier, a wall of blue, craggy ice covering 440 square miles. Its face spreads over 3 miles and ascends several hundred feet into the misty summer skies. Icebergs calve from the glacier, literally cracking off and sliding into the sea in a breathtaking visual and auditory display.

The ship slowly cruised toward the glacier as car-sized icebergs bobbed in our path, gently chunking against the metal sides of the ship. Our cabin's porthole was just above the water mark, giving an eye-level view of these frozen monsters.

The three ports-of-call of this cruise were each a quick glimpse into different facets of Alaskan (and sometimes lesbian) life.

In our first stop in the state capital, the Women of Juneau organized an extensive list of low-cost excursions, including hiking, kayaking, bicycling and brew-pub tours. We chose a hike along the Perseverance Trail, which winds through a soggy, alpine-style forest toward Glacier Peak just a few miles outside of town. Our Juneau hosts were gracious and welcoming. Later we hooked up with a group heading out to the Mendenhall Glacier, where we had a view of the old blue ice slathered across the hillside.

A few hours later we found ourselves suiting up for a kayak expedition to Smuggler's Cove, an inlet in Auke Bay in the southern tip of the Gulf of Alaska. By this time I was looking forward to some group-less action, so after circling the cove and viewing the Mendenhall Glacier from the water, we quickly opted for the more challenging option of kayaking around Auke Island while the others continued paddling in the calmer waters leading toward shore.

As we rounded the small, cone-shaped land mass, a bald eagle swooped down to track the path of a salmon that leapt out of the water next to our kayak. Moments later, the whiskered face of a sea otter popped into view - moments of epiphany that defined Alaska through our eyes.

Back in town we taste-tested the local brew in the Red Dog Saloon, an establishment whose prominent features are rustic wood paneling and animal trophies. We sat beneath the head of a 2,000-pound dahl sheep, sipping the excellent Alaska Amber ale.

Disembarking next in Skagway, we hopped a shuttle bus to the helicopters we would take over the Chilkoot Trail, the route followed by the Klondike gold miners during the 1898-1900 gold rush. We hovered above ice fields, then landed on a glacier, where we walked over thousand-year-old ice and peered down spooky bottomless crevasses.

Our third and final stop was in Ketchikan. The aura of the once-lucrative salmon fishing and lumber industries is still apparent in the rough tin and clapboard buildings and the generally scruffy appearance of the outer parts of town. The downtown area is charming but touristy. Your most difficult decision will be choosing a T-shirt and a brand of canned or smoked salmon.

Leaving our new friends in Vancouver, I felt a welling up of sadness and separation, accompanied by heartfelt promises to stay in touch - emotions I hadn't felt since the last day of summer camp. And I never once wanted to call home.

Upcoming Olivia cruises include an exploration of Tahiti and her sister islands Feb. 15-22, the Mexican Caribbean April 14-21 and the Greek Isles and Turkey July 4-11. Resort vacations are also available at the Copper Mountain ski resort in Colorado March 16-23 and Club Med in Huatulco, Mexico, Oct. 25-Nov. 1. Olivia Cruises and Resorts, 4400 Market St., Oakland 94608. Phone: 1-800-631-6277 or (510) 655-0364; fax: (510) 655-4334; e-mail: Olivia@eor.com.&lt;

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